Leaning against the wall of one of the cells, Enrico had part of his clothes torn around the chest. Blood trickled from his mouth and nose as he remained in a defensive position, with his arms protecting his face while enduring a series of punches from the creatures.
He no longer knew how long he had been in that place. After his mana ran out, all he could do was fight to survive. Eventually, he had to lean against the wall just to remain standing.
'How much time has passed? I think my body is reaching its limit.'
[Sixteen hours have passed, and you haven't slept for even a moment during all that time. Even your excitement about this training has disappeared. Wouldn't it be better to ask him to stop?]
'Don't even think about it! That lunatic will do something even worse if I ask to give up... Wait, maybe asking him to stop wouldn't be so bad after all. Hehehe.'
[Damn it! He's out of his mind! What should I do? I can't interfere for another two months as punishment for my previous interference!]
Enrico's eyes were beginning to grow dull, but it was impossible for that to be a limit break. After all, he had said it would take until the end of the year for him to achieve another one.
[He's losing consciousness. Come to think of it, maybe that's for the best. Who knows, perhaps this lunatic will stop once he faints... But is that really what he'll want? What if he decides to put him through even worse training afterward? No way!]
After deciding what to do, the System decided to resort to something that could wake Enrico up. After all, this was important and wouldn't be considered the same kind of interference that had occurred with Titanza.
[ENRICO, THE END OF THE WORLD HAS ARRIVED!]
Enrico immediately crouched down and delivered three consecutive punches, forcing the creatures to retreat. Breathing with difficulty, he realized that everything was still normal. That was undoubtedly one of the things he worried about most, because whenever he thought about the possibility of the world ending, he ended up putting enormous pressure on himself.
'Thanks for waking me up.'
[Thank me when you manage to complete this stupid training.]
Since he was out of mana, Enrico decided to focus entirely on defense, remaining pressed against the wall. He would need to make as few movements as possible to conserve his energy.
'Good thing I ended up in a prison.'
Thanks to the structure of the cell, although he was surrounded, he only had to deal with a few creatures at a time. This time, he held his hands in front of his body without even considering attacking. His goal was simply to defend himself and dodge the blows. When the first attack came, he used the palm of his hand to deflect the creature's fist.
A second attack came from the right. Enrico took advantage of his previous movement to grab the creature he had just deflected and use it as a shield. Then, he kicked away three others that were trying to approach. A third, fourth, and fifth creature appeared in front of him, forcing him to act quickly. That was when he remembered the red gate that served as the cell door, which had previously been destroyed by several attacks when he tried to close it so he could rest inside.
Enrico lifted the gate and, using it for support, threw three of the creatures off balance. Then, he used all the strength he had left to push the five of them out of the cell. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, he gripped the gate tightly while the creatures tried to knock it down, just as they had done before. This time, however, Enrico was much better prepared than he had been at the beginning of the training.
[You've managed to adapt to them, but it seems they're learning too. Now they're trying to hit your fingers.]
The System was right. The creatures used their claws to cut Enrico's hands, which were already covered in deep wounds. Realizing he wouldn't be able to keep holding the gate that way, he withdrew his hands and began bracing his arms against it instead, allowing the claws to cut into them. He kept the rest of his body away to avoid taking too many hits, although that didn't completely prevent the attacks. After all, those creatures' arms weren't very long, but that didn't mean they would stop trying to reach him.
'I just need to recover my mana.'
[You'll need to endure for at least an hour to recover it completely.]
'...Just one hour? How easy.'
[Idiot.]
Matteo watched everything with shining eyes, sitting in the room next to the cells. He had subjected Valerio and Platina to similar training, but neither of them had managed to endure that situation for so long. Valerio had lasted only two minutes longer than Platina, totaling fourteen hours.
'His mindset is better than theirs. That's good... Very good.'
If Enrico managed to complete that day's training, Matteo wouldn't even need to test Taíra when she reached the Second Circle. His decision about which child he would force to evolve would already be made.
'But before putting this plan into practice, he needs to reach a higher level than the others.'
His hand moved to pick up a drink from a table beside him.
"Your son is quite good. He's grown a lot since the last time I saw him."
Matteo paused for a moment upon hearing that voice.
"What do you mean by that? Have you met him before?"
Beside Matteo, a shadow sat with its legs crossed, watching the scene. That being was the demon with whom he had recently made a contract.
"We could say that. It was back when he was still overweight."
"When?"
"Back when I was interested in a boy named Chalés. But it seems your son ended up eliminating him. What a shame. That boy really had potential..."
That could be either good or bad, depending on how things unfolded. After all, Matteo knew that the demon could be quite vengeful if someone bothered her.
"And what do you intend to do with him?"
The demon seemed to turn her gaze toward him.
"Actually, I've become quite interested in your son, even more than I was in Chalés. That made me want to form a contract with him, but that maid is always watching him from a distance. So, I decided to leave him for the future, at least for now."
Matteo nodded in agreement with the demon.
'That's good. I don't want this potential to go to waste before it fulfills my plan.'
The shadow approached the glass separating them from the room where Enrico was fighting, revealing a female figure with purple hair and white skin, marked by black cracks spreading across her entire body.
"I'm really interested in him. So, let's see what he's capable of during your family's training. Besides, I feel that his physical attributes are better than those of anyone I've ever seen, especially considering the circle he's in."
"His body?"
"Yes. Perhaps he'll be able to satisfy me in the future."
Matteo let out a sigh upon hearing those words.
"I almost forgot what you're like..."
The demon before him was Lilith, the queen of succubi and the personification of the sin of lust, one of the Seven Demon Kings, second only to the one who bore the title of Satan.
"Well, let's keep watching."
After all, this was no time for such games. The most important thing for Matteo was to find out whether Enrico would be able to complete his plan and elevate the Solcren family to a new level.